Adventure sports or aquatic life? Naini lake’s future uncertain

NEW DELHI: The Naini lake, a large natural water body in Model Town, is at the heart of an intense debate: Should it be used for adventure sports or restored as a bird habitat? There are two groups among the residents of Model Town phase I, one campaigning for improvement in water quality and restoration of aquatic life while the other is demanding that the tourism department make adventure sporting facilities to engage and entertain them.
Some residents have alleged that the tourism department has already tied up with a private adventure sports company without floating tenders. The department officials, however, claimed that activities like zorbing ball or zip-line (a cable with a pulley to cross over the lake) which have recently been started are on a trial basis. There are plans for starting archery too.
Meanwhile, worried that the lake won’t get a chance to be rejuvenated, some residents got in touch with C R Babu, professor-emeritus, Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), to do an assessment of the lake and see if it can be restored. The lake, now dead, used to be a thriving water body long ago that received storm water from surrounding areas. Its inlets and outlets were blocked after the area developed into a residential colony. What completely destroyed the water body was that it was encased in cemented walls and a floor to contain it. “Every water body needs an inlet and outlet. These were missing here. They are using borewell water to fill it up,” said Babu. But he believes it has potential.
“Turbidity is high and it is also badly silted. There is very little aquatic life in it - some ducks have been introduced. But the lake can be developed into a recreational space for residents with native trees and wildlife,” added Babu.
In a report, Babu also explains that the lake can be beneficial to the residents as it reduces the heat island effect (a part of the city where the temperature is considerably higher than the surrounding areas). The residents have informed Babu that there is a high rate of fish mortality in the lake due to very low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. DO is the amount of oxygen dissolved in water which also determines whether aquatic life can survive in it.
“Till a few years back, rainwater used to enter the lake, but the Lake Area Residents Association (LARA), which doesn't represent all the residents, constructed a boundary wall. That stopped the natural flow of water. There is no fresh water anymore and aquatic plants have died. We have requested CM, Kejriwal to implement professor Babu’s plan to revive the lake. He has agreed,” said Juhi Chaudhary, a resident.
But Mukesh Agarwal, general secretary, LARA, said “This is one of those rare lakes that’s inside a colony. This is an upmarket area and the lake is surrounded by houses. I appreciate adventure activities. I think there should be speedboats in it and also big boats in which residents can host private functions. It should be lit up at night. This can be also be a religious place where people can feed fish as part of rituals.”
The tourism department claims it’s open to dissent. “There are two groups of residents who have completely different views on the lake. Some have repeatedly asked us to implement sporting activities. But we can do it only if we are sure that it will generate revenue. Till now, with boating activities, we couldn’t generate much from Naini lake – just about Rs 500 to Rs1000 daily, depending on the number of people coming. The adventure activities are on a trial basis with 70:30 revenue sharing between the company and us. They take 70%. Tenders will be floated after the trial period is over. But if some residents have issues with this, we request them to write to us,” said a senior official of the Delhi tourism department.
Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra, who recently took over from JS Tomar, said that reviving the water body was a priority but he did not think that tourism activities would be a deterrent to that effort. “I have taken a meeting on the matter and have directed officials to start the revival process. The lake is dead, and unless we can revive it, tourism activities cannot take place here. The activities on right now are in the trial period. I am aware that there is some resentment among residents and I will visit the site shortly to speak to both sets of residents and find a middle path. Revival of this lake is part of the government’s plans to revive many such water bodies in the city,” he said.